I recently listened to “A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking” recently and I was NOT expecting YA fantasy fiction to go that hard on the subject of “heroism” being a term used to excuse the phenomenon of pushing people into dangerous jobs way too young to cover for the systemic failures and often outright corruption of existing power structures. I had a good few years experience in Healthcare beforehand but I graduated nursing school mid-covid and that book really spoke to me.

Somewhat coincidentally iirc it was actually released mid COVID as well, and I imagine had been worked on for years beforehand. So it’s interesting to me that the author picked up on the already existing manifestations of this phenomenon in a way that would speak so well to the epic clusterfuck that ultimately occurred.

I’m currently listening to Livesuit by James SA Corey. It’s part of their new series that released this year called The Captives War. It’s a Novella/Interquel pretty typical of their release style.

It takes place in an incredibly unknowably distant future for humanity. We follow a squad of Livesuit infantry who have fused their bodies with technology to fight an unfathomable legion of alien conquerors. An enemy that has never lost a war then uses the best traits of conquered races to continue their war.

Why it’s so good is because the author(s) have an incredible way of describing people and the world they interact with. Images are vivd and believable. While being so alien, and futuristic Corey manages to write a world you can imagine yourself in.

Additionally, their novellas always take place in the same world, but are completely stand alone stories from the main series so the depth of world building is just… chef’s kiss

Both writers were originally working on writing RPGs and TTRPGs so their style just brings me back to sitting at a table with friends, some drinks and a Character Sheet for a hopeful lvl 3 wizard.

Steven Gould - Jumper

Barring the character names and teleportation it shares little with the movie, though I think the movie wasn’t all that bad tbh. The idea is a kid with an abusive single dad discovers he can teleport. He acts like a kid would, making lots of mistakes, and figures out his teleportation and how to live.

The novel is a little old so characters are a little shallow and stereotypical but honestly way less than expected. I have listened to the novels before but come back every so often for a repeat.

Just finished Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Service Model”. It was excellent. But be warned, if you’re looking for military, adventure sci fi with snarky AI’s this will not be your cup of tea. The author takes on modern societal issues in the setting of post collapse human society. Yes, I’m aware of the dichotomy there.

If you do want snarky AI’s and adventure, then I recommend the following series:

“Backyard Starship” series. I think it’s up to book 17 so far and the quality of the books have stayed pretty consistent. The prequel series “The Peacemaker Wars” is also pretty good.

“Expeditionary Force” The quality does NOT stay consistent in this series and quite frankly, it’s not very well written. However, it’s like Lofthouse cookies, a lot of mediocre ingredients come together to make something great. I am a die hard fan of the series and highly recommend it if you want something that just removes you from reality for a while.

Best audio book I’ve listened to… Dungeon Crawler Carl. Great story. Amazing audio book production.

11-22-63 by myself and The Hail Mary Project with my wife.

I just finished listening to all 14 Honor Harrington novels.

Currently I’m listening to “What It Means to Be Moral” by Phil Zuckerman on Audible.

I like how it contrasts why some people might do the things that they do based on their beliefs and what it can lead a person to do or not do. It doesn’t force any conclusions on to you but it does make you think about things to come to your own conclusions.

I’m listening to the Bobiverse again because the fifth book came out recently. The universe, pun intended, was really interesting and the entire idea of digital people is fun to think about while doing chores.

Robert Caro’s “The Power Broker.”

There’s also a 50-year anniversary, 12-part, 99% Invisible series diving into it. Looking forward to listening to those alongside each section.

Confederacy of Dunces, read by Artie Johnson. I’ve read and listened to it at least a dozen times. Johnson really puts a lot into his reading of it.

Currently listening to Starter Villain

Guy inherited his “billionaire” estranged uncles “parking garage” business, only for his ancillary businesses to be more interesting.

I’m relistening to Max Brooks’ “Zombie Survival Guide” while commuting and High Howey’s “Dust” (from the Silo trilogy) when I can focus. I managed to listen to 15 books this year so far, and I am really proud of myself for that. :)

The farseer triology.

It’s pretty interesting fantasy from about 20 odd years ago

character driven introspective

Mariette Lindsteins “Pako Kultista” (or Lång väg hem Mina 25 år i sekten) that tells of her life in the scientology cult, almost finished it. Couldn’t find if it had an English translation. It’s chilling to listen to how the members are thoroughly abused, controlled and forced to become husks of themselves.

I’m reading James Michener’Alaska, and it’s a fantastic story. It is a very well crafted character drama and it has excellent pacing.

I just read Cormac McCarthy’The Road and it was also an incredible read, though it kind of crushed me emotionally for a while afterwards!